Текст книги "Rip"

Автор книги: Rachel Van Dyken

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Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

Police suspect the Pier Killer may be a woman based on the hate crime toward women’s reproductive organs, reports reveal—The Seattle Tribune

THE ELEVATOR DOORS CLOSED. I GLANCED at my reflection through the smooth metallic surface and looked away.

My entire life I’d avoided mirrors, shiny surfaces—anything that would reveal to me what I already knew about myself.

That I was a monster.

The eyes are the window to the soul, and I knew better than anyone else that mine was a very dark place. In bartering for Maya’s life, I hadn’t once thought about what I would do when I was finished with her.

Granted, she had to survive that long.

And so many pieces had to fall into place for that to happen that I knew getting attached would damn near kill me, destroy possibly the last shred of humanity I had left.

When the doors opened, I forced a smile across my lips—it felt awkward—it always did because happiness was such a foreign emotion I wasn’t sure I would even recognize it if it came and hit me upside the head.

“Mr. Blazik.” Tom Mikelson, one of the board members, walked by me giving a slight wave of his hand.

“Tom.” I nodded and forced the smile wider. “How’s your wife? Recovering from hip surgery?”

“Oh yes.” Tom rocked back on his heels then pushed his spectacles up on his large nose. He resembled a younger version of Santa Claus, with graying hair, ruddy cheeks and pronounced lips and nose, he was the closest thing to a friend I had.

Which was pathetic when I really thought about it.

“She loved the flowers.” He nervously tapped his pen against his leg as he was prone to do when I engaged in conversation with him. He was fidgety, always fidgety when approached by authority. “You didn’t really have to do that.”

“I did,” I said in a soft voice, trying to put him at ease. “And I’m happy she’s doing well.”

“Yes well.” Tom cleared his throat.

“Was there something else?”

He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Mr. Petrov is waiting for you in your office. I noticed him waltz in when I was coming down to deliver some contracts.”

“Thank you.” I touched his shoulder. “I’ll deal with him. Why don’t you take a long lunch?” I pulled back. “In fact, take off the afternoon, visit that wife of yours.”

His eyes narrowed in the protective way they often did when he suddenly felt the need to come to my defense, I might be the boss but he had a son my age, and always felt the need to step up to the battle if called. “Listen Nikolai, if Petrov is sniffing around again I can—”

“It’s fine.” I chuckled. “I promise. Now, go take care of your wife, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He licked his lips, his eyes darting back and forth with uncertainty before he stepped back and nodded. “Right. I’ll do that.”

“Good afternoon, Tom.”

“Nikolai.”

He rarely called me by my first name. It still made him uncomfortable to do so, and he only threw it out there when he was concerned. I thought of it as a paternal instinct, but I wouldn’t know. Both my parents were dead.

I straightened my tie and made my way to my office.

Sheila, my assistant, shared a look of disdain with me before shaking her head and grabbing her purse.

“An hour should be adequate.” I opened the door for her to leave and listened to her heels click against the marble floors. Typically, she took her breaks whenever Petrov was in the building. I didn’t want her asking questions, and I sure as hell didn’t need her to know what was going on so that she could incriminate not only herself but my entire company.

I reached for the door to my office and pulled it open.

Classical music floated through the air. The distinct smell of expensive cigars and my finest whiskey gave way to the familiar scent of Petrov. He was seated at my desk as if he owned the damn world, twirling a cigar between his fingers.

“How did it go?” he asked.

“As well as could be expected.” I walked over to the sidebar and poured myself a healthy glass of whiskey and sat on the couch, showing him my ease at his visit even while I was wondering in the back of my mind if he really would keep his end of the bargain.

“Good.” He stood. “I was worried.”

“Bullshit.” I took a swig of whiskey. “Try again.”

He pulled his lips back, revealing even white teeth as he formed a menacing smile against his pale complexion and dark hair. Petrov was a large man, he enjoyed the finer things in life and it showed in his skin and inability to wear a suit that wasn’t made strictly for his large body.

“Can a father not be concerned for his daughter?”

I pressed my lips together to keep myself from insulting him and stood. What about his other daughter? The one that was currently dying from cancer? Did he care for her? Just thinking of Andi made me want to run my fist through the man’s arrogant face, but now wasn’t the time to act, not yet. “So, now that you know she’s just fine, you’ll be leaving? Wasn’t that part of the deal?”

“The deal…” he repeated, puffing out smoke from his mouth. “I’ve come to renegotiate.”

“No.” I walked slowly toward the door.

“I rarely hear that word.”

“I wonder if it’s because you kill the individuals before they have a chance to utter it.” I tilted my head in amusement. “Now, if that’s all?”

“This isn’t over.” Petrov put out his cigar on my mahogany desk and strutted toward the door. “Eventually you will renegotiate, you’ll need a favor so I keep your little secret quiet.”

It wasn’t fear I experienced in that moment, more like dread. I’d fought for years to keep my identity a secret, to keep my family name in the clear.

“The contract states you have no choice.” I crossed my arms. “So unless one of us breaks said contract…”

“Hah.” He tilted his head back and barked out a strangled laugh. “Have you seen my Maya? I’m surprised the contract isn’t already void.”

“I have self control.” Disgusted that my suspicions were correct, I turned away from him, giving him my back was basically like pulling a gun on the man. It was disrespectful, but it was all I had. Having him in the same building, let alone the same city as Maya didn’t sit well with me. She’d always been more of a pawn than a daughter, and I was beginning to realize how much.

“Till we meet again,” Petrov said in a calm voice.

The door to my office shut with a quiet click.

And I was left staring at the smoking cigar on my desk. Wondering how the hell I was going to keep my end of the bargain, when ten minutes ago I was contemplating all the ways I could break it.

The last female victim has been identified as Mary Smith, a drug addict and prostitute. She was HIV positive. –The Seattle Tribune

THREE HOURS LATER AND I WAS still in a state of utter disbelief. I searched the entire apartment. No computer. No phone, not even a phone jack, yes I’d actually gotten desperate enough to search for one.

I was stuck in a freaking compound.

At least I had food. And alcohol.

Pacing the marble white floor, I started chewing my thumbnail. I was a smart girl, logical, able to put pieces together, but each time I tried to make the pieces fit, it was like they rejected each other, and I was just as confused as before.

Who was Nikolai Blazik? And why was I so important?

What the hell did my father do to get on this guy’s bad side? Furthermore, how was Nikolai in the type of position that he could exert power over my father—one of the scariest individuals I’d ever known?

Nothing made sense.

Except one thing… if my father made a deal with Nikolai, that meant he was a scary man, a bad man, one who would think nothing of killing me and making it look like an accident.

My head still hurt.

The sound of a lock turning had my heart speeding up like I was getting ready to witness my own murder. Funny, how I’d look back on that very moment and realize how true my own words were.

But in that moment, with the lock turning, all I could think was that it was some sort of sick joke, or that surely Nikolai would re-think his decision. I had absolutely nothing to offer him—other than my brain and couldn’t he find any girl to do what he needed me to do?

Air whooshed out of my lungs at seeing him again. It should be a crime to be so beautiful, it was as if every single part of his body was in perfect sync with the universe as he made his way slowly across the marble floor, his shoes hitting in perfect cadence with my heart beat.

Slowly, his lips turned up into a breathtaking smile. One that had me staggering backward and wishing he was ugly so I could hate him.

But it was hard to hate pretty. Even I had to admit that. And Nikolai? He was more than pretty, he was beautiful. All our lives we’re told that ugly, deformed, is bad—but it’s a lie. Sometimes the most terrifying things you will ever encounter are also the most beautiful.

“I see you’ve read the folder?” He pointed down at the coffee table where I’d basically made a massacre of all the different pages.

“Yeah.” I croaked. My body and voice were so not in sync at that moment and my heart was still beating so hard I was afraid he was going to see the pulse in my neck and attack vampire style—he seemed the type. In fact, the whole scenario seemed like a vampire movie gone bad.

“Any questions?” His right hand grazed my shoulder gently prodding me toward the couch. With no other option but to listen to his crazy talk, I sat.

“Questions.” I huffed. “Why can’t I have access to the outside world? You do realize this is kidnapping, right?”

Nikolai pressed his lips together like he was fighting not to laugh. “Kidnapping would mean you were a mere child I’d lured here under false pretenses. Need I remind you, you spent the better part of your year calling my offices begging—”

“I didn’t beg.”

“—begging…” Brushing off my protest like an insignificant insect, he continued. “… for one interview, for ten minutes of my time, at first I believe you asked for an hour but when that wouldn’t work you were willing to meet me for twenty minutes, fifteen, finally ten, and I think the last phone call bordered on needing a restraining order when you threatened my secretary.”

Heat rushed into my face. “Well, I wasn’t sure she was giving you my messages.”

“She was.”

Awkward. I chewed my lipstick—or what was left of it—from my lower lip. “So you’re saying that I’m here by choice.”

“Was it your choice to come to the office this afternoon?”

“Yes but—”

“And was it your choice to ask for an interview?”

“Yes.” I gritted my teeth. “But had I known it would be you owning me, not allowing me to question you, then I would have said no.”

He tilted his head to the side, his dark brown eyes going completely black. “That’s a lie.”

“So now I’m a liar?”

“Yes.” He said it so simply, so confidently, that I wanted to strangle him. “You would have been too curious to turn me down.”

“Hah, curiosity killed the cat.” I made a cutting motion across my throat.

His eyes narrowed in on my neck, as if watching the very pulse that was starting to speed up again. “You have beautiful skin… it’s very… soft isn’t it?” Lean fingers reached out and tapped the rhythm of my pulse against my neck. “Hmm…”

“Um.” My lips were trembling in anticipation of more touching. “About the job.”

“It’s yours,” he whispered, still not taking his eyes from my neck.

“Gee thanks, because that’s what I came here for, a job where I’m locked away from the Internet, can’t make any phone calls or watch Netflix, oh, and am apparently prevented from engaging in any sort of sexual relationship.”

His hand jerked back. “So that’s what this is about?”

“Yes,” I said through clenched teeth. “Being locked up in solitary doesn’t piss me off, but not being able to have sex does.” The asshole was insufferable!

Nostrils flaring, he turned away. “It’s impossible.”

“What is?”

“A relationship.” He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down that gorgeous neck of his. I really needed to stop staring. He was the enemy—not a friend.

I think in those early moments I recognized things that should have given me warning. The way he stood, the way he touched me, even his eyes. My subconscious had been warning me, but I was too horrified at my circumstances to listen.

Until it was too late.

“The pay is extravagant.” He licked his lips. “Half a million.”

“A year?” I croaked out. I’d been surrounded by money my whole life, but money, as my father said, had to be earned, it wasn’t freely given. Blood money above all else, was always earned.

“No.” Nikolai stood. “A month.”

“What?” I jumped to my feet. “Half a million a month? What the heck do you have me doing? Burying bodies!”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Would you? For half a million a month?”

“No.” Yes, probably, damn it!

“Another lie.” He angled his head in the other direction. “Come now, aren’t we close enough that you can at least be honest about what makes you tick…?” He moved until he was chest to chest with me, until there was maybe an inch of space between our lips. I fought the urge to lean. He smelled so good and something about him, maybe it was just his indifference, made me want to pick apart all his pieces.

See? I was back at the puzzle scenario.

“I barely know you,” I said in a strained voice.

“Would you like to?” His eyes hooded.

“If you let me go… I’ll come back to work every day. I swear, just let me have some sort of freedom and—”

“The contract is non-negotiable, I’m afraid. You either agree or…” His features inscrutable, he offered a weak half-shrug.

“Or?” I crossed my arms, taking a step back. “You kill me and bury my body?”

“You paying me half a million?” he fired back with a smile that actually managed to reach his eyes. “Everyone has a price, Maya.”

“I don’t.”

“You do.” He nodded, and his smile dwindled a bit. “Your price was an interview, and look how generous I’m being… giving you a year in my presence.”

“So now I’m supposed to say thank you?”

“It would only be polite.” He smirked. “But I’m a patient man. I’ll wait until you say the words.”

“I never will.”

“Lie after lie… Will you never learn?”

“What are you, a personal lie detector?”

His eyes drank me in for a few seconds before he whispered, “I know people.”

A shiver rippled through me but I managed to suppress it. “At least give me Internet.”

“I’ll tell you what…” He crossed his arms, mimicking me. “I’ll give you Internet… after you’ve worked for a few days and I find your work acceptable.”

“And if it’s not.”

“Then we’re back to burying bodies, aren’t we?” Another smile lifted his lips. That meant he was joking, right?

“Okay.”

“Fabulous.” He rubbed his hands together. “Now, go get dressed.”

“I am dressed.”

“Work.” He said in an ‘all business’ manner, “Will start this evening, only because I don’t have all week to train you. I need to be in Chicago Friday.”

“You get to go to Chicago while I sit in solitary confinement?”

“Would it make you happy if I gave you access to the library?”

“Library?” I perked up.

“You love the classics, am I right?”

“Stop being creepy.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “I don’t think anyone’s ever called me that.”

“To your face, probably not.”

“I like you.”

Schooling my expression, I leveled a cool stare on him and forced calm into my voice, even though I was ready to lose my sanity. “Well the feeling’s not mutual.”

He smirked. “Believe me, it will be. Now, go get dressed. The closet in the master bedroom should have adequate clothing. Wear all black and please try not to take too long, we don’t want to be late.”

“You’re the boss. It’s impossible to be late.”

“Maya,” he snapped. “Get dressed. Now.”

Was I getting to him? A little thrill shot through me at the possibility. “Say please.”

“I haven’t uttered that word in ten years.”

“Try.”

With a long sigh he looked away and murmured. “Please.”

“Better.”

He pointed down the hall. “Go.”

“Fine.” I shuffled off into the general direction of the master bedroom and quickly found an outfit that would work. Black leggings, a long black sweater, and black boots.

Several masks lined the wall of my closet, the type that might be worn at a masquerade. Did that mean he hosted parties up here? Or was he thinking I’d somehow put on a mask, too? Well, he was in for one hell of a fight because I wasn’t dressing up like it was Halloween in order to do a job I didn’t even want. I accidently knocked one of the masks off the wall as I walked by. With a curse I bent down and picked one up. There was something so familiar about the white, something so… red. It made absolutely no sense but it was almost like I could see blood staining it. With a shake of my head, I stood, placing it back on the wall and put on my shoes.

Ten minutes later I stomped out of the bedroom and did a little circle in front of him. “This work?”

“It will.” His eyes devoured me. “I believe you’ll do just fine. Remember, no talking.”

“At all?”

“To the patients.”

“Patients.” I froze. “Like real patients.”

“No, dead ones.”

I laughed.

He didn’t.

“Let’s go.” His jaw made a clicking noise as he clenched it and led me toward the door. “We don’t want to be late for our first appointment.”

Downtown Seattle

Six hours later

“Do you repent?” The air crackled with excitement as the knife flickered in the moonlight streaming through the windows. “Answer me!”

But she couldn’t—answer at least, her muscles were completely useless thanks to the drugs in her system.

“No?” The knife sliced through the air. “Shall I help you repent?”

A lone tear trailed down the woman’s cheek, mixing with the blood from the cut in her lip.

“Fine.” The knife met skin.

It pierced.

The blood was red. Pure.

And all was right in the world once more. 

The body cuts were perfect, the organs removed as if the killer has the gift of a surgeon. Police are currently working hand in hand with all the local hospitals. –The Seattle Tribune

“YOU’RE NOT WEARING BLACK,” I BLURTED once we were in the parking garage, my eyes scanning over the crisp white button up and the same black slacks he’d worn to our initial meeting.

“How very intuitive of you, Maya.” Nikolai mused placing his hand on my lower back.

“Ass.”

His lips twitched.

At least he had somewhat of a sense of humor.

“Get in.” He opened the door to a black Audi A8. I slid in to the leather seat and looked around. The car seemed heavier than normal sedans or sports cars. I’d always loved Audi’s but this one wasn’t like others I’d seen on the road.

Curiosity got the best of me, when Nikolai got in and turned the key I asked. “What kind of Audi is this?”

“A safe one,” he said with a simple shrug, his lips pressing together in a firm line. “Throw a grenade at it and we’d walk away without a scratch.”

“You uh, get grenades thrown at you often?”

“One can never be too careful.”

“Hmm.” I leaned back and crossed my arms as classical music floated through the car. “So, the location of our first appointment.”

“A simple office building—nothing special.”

“Right.” I started nervously cracking my knuckles.

“Don’t.” His teeth clenched as he placed a solid warm hand across mine. “Just… don’t, not now.”

“Um, okay.” His hand hadn’t left mine. “Sorry.”

“You should be,” he snapped then jerked away from me like the feel of my skin somehow offended him.

Right. So I was back at the crazy theory.

We drove the rest of the way in complete silence—except for the violin music in the background. It seemed melodramatic. Driving through downtown Seattle with a billionaire in a car that could withstand World War Three, only to get trained for my new job.

Where I had no rights as a human being.

Yeah I was a bad romance novel waiting to happen.

He stopped the car at Pier 44 and turned off the engine. “Shall we?”

Nikolai didn’t wait for me to answer, simply got out of the car. Dumbly, I followed. What other option did I have?

He was still dressed in his tight white button up and black pants. Why was it that I had to change and he didn’t? The salty wet air stung my nostrils as we walked down the pier and finally stopped in front of a red door.

I looked around while he pulled out a key and shoved it in the lock. What could a man like him possibly be doing on the pier? In the dead of night? And why did he need my help?

“Do not speak.” He hissed before grabbing my elbow and jerking me through the entrance. He kept his arm wrapped around me. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was nervous I’d cut and run, or because it was so freaking cold in that place it could have been a freezer.

I shivered.

“You’ll get used to it,” he whispered across my ear.

“But don’t I want to,” I muttered under my breath.

His teeth flashed in what I assumed was a smile—I didn’t want to think he was gnashing his teeth at me so early on in our working relationship. Maybe I was trying to stay positive.

I shivered again and crossed my arms, trying to keep my body heat from evaporating into whatever hellish nightmare I’d just walked into.

Nikolai walked toward one of the walls and flipped a switch.

The lights flickered on one by one, reminding me of those horror movies where the buzzing of the lights being on is almost as freaky as the lights being off.

Everywhere I looked was white.

White marble floors.

White couches.

And a white receptionist desk with a red J hanging down the front. If I wasn’t so freaked out, I’d probably think everything looked modern and cool, not exactly inviting but not terrifying either.

Magazines littered the coffee table in the middle of the room, and a large bay window overlooked the Sound.

“Clinical,” I muttered under my breath.

The sound of a phone ringing had me nearly colliding with the nearest couch and toppling over backward.

“Phone,” Nikolai said in an amused voice. “It’s just a phone Maya.”

I managed to croak out a weak, “yeah.” But was anything as it seemed with him? No, not at all, so excuse me for freaking out over the phone ringing.

“Yes.” He answered on the second ring, his gaze trained on the floor. He checked his watch then motioned for me to approach the receptionist desk. “No, no that should work out just fine, I have a new… employee.” His eyes found mine.

I wasn’t so sure I liked the way he said employee, like I was disposable.

Or edible.

He licked his lips, eying me up and down before glancing back at the floor again. “Give me twenty minutes, then the usual.”

He hung up the phone and swore.

“Problem in crazy land?” I asked sweetly.

“I don’t believe the contract you signed this afternoon said anything about sarcasm. Or speaking.”

“Maybe you should have put that in then before I signed on the dotted line… sir.”

His eyes narrowed. “Unfortunate….”

“What is?”

“That you don’t mean that term of respect the way it should be meant… I could get used to it.”

“Yeah, I bet.”

“Turn.”

“Excuse me?”

“Around.” He placed his hands on my shoulders and twisted my body toward a white door with two windows. “I have exactly eighteen and a half minutes to teach you the basics before we have our first patient.”

“I’m seeing real patients?”

Nikolai didn’t answer. I’d begun to notice that about him. If he didn’t want to answer he simply… refused to speak, as if he didn’t owe me anything.

He opened the door leading to the hallway and ushered me through, the lights flickered on all by themselves, lighting up rooms on either side of me. Each of them looked sterile enough that I could probably lick the floors and still be safer than eating while typing on my laptop.

“And behind door number one,” Nikolai whispered in my ear, causing a chill to run down both my arms.

He pushed the door open it made a suction noise and then closed behind us. He stretched his arms above his head and cracked his neck then pulled out a pair of latex gloves.

I gulped and tried to stop the sudden panic that sliced through me, “Are we, examining someone?”

He paused, his hands hovering over the sink and table facing the corner. “It would be prudent for you to remember the terms of the contract, Maya.”

Right. No questions, or talking.

“Do I need gloves?”

“Is that still a question? Also, if you keep talking, I may remove your tongue, you’ve been given fair warning.”

Did he just say he was going to cut my tongue out? Holy shit, he really was crazy! Did the medical journals know this? Society? People of earth? How did he hide this side of him? I was full on panicking at that moment.

Instead of bossing me around like I figured he’d do, he clapped his hands twice, powder flying off his gloves, more violin music began to come through an unseen sound system.

To be completely honest it was creepy.

Not soothing. Kind of like the music they play in the elevator in hopes to make you forget that you could plummet to your death at any point.

I leaned against the wall and watched him pull out metal instruments. Two scalpels, which made me think surgery. It killed me not asking, and when he pulled out a respirator and grabbed an IV bag, my hands began to shake against my body.

What exactly where we doing? Performing surgery? And in what world was I even close to being adequately capable of doing anything like that? I was studying diseases, but not in the literal sense where I cut up bodies and peered inside—that was a different major, a different type of person.

Books. I liked books.

Hands on experience? No, thank you.

“You will only aid me for a few minutes at a time. When I ask you to leave, you will walk out the door. Shut it behind you and don’t look back. You don’t ask questions. When the phone rings again, answer it and let him know my projected finish time in order to bring in the new patient. You’ll know my projected finish time because I’ll text it to the phone I gave you earlier this afternoon.”

Blood roared in my ears. So much information yet none of it connected or made sense.

“Maya!” he snapped. “Pay attention.”

I swallowed and nodded my head. “Shut the door, don’t look back, don’t ask questions, answer phone, answer your text. Got it?”

His shoulders sagged a bit.

“What if I don’t get your text?”

“Now that…” He smirked. “… is a good question.”

“I’m full of them, just let me ask.”

“I’m sure you are.” His eyebrows drew up in amusement. “If I don’t text, you wait for me. If after two hours you receive nothing. You find the black box located underneath the receptionist desk and follow the instructions. It’s important that you do exactly what those instructions say.”

“Or else?”

“Not the right question.” A muscle flexed in his jaw as he looked away and clenched his fists. “Do you think you can handle all of this?”

“No.”

Nikolai tilted his head and took two steps toward me. Licking his full lips he leaned in and whispered so close to my mouth I could almost taste him. “Lie.”

Afraid to breathe, I answered with a stiff nod and stepped back.

“Now, answer the door.”

“But there’s no—”

A loud knock sounded somewhere in the building.

“End of the hall, open the door, lead our patient in. Again, no questions.”

With more confidence than I felt, since my legs were like rubber as I made my way out of the office, I slowly walked to the end of the hall and opened the door.

I don’t know what I was expecting.

The boogie monster?

ET?

A friggin’ zombie from Walking Dead?

But a girl about my age stood on the other side of the door. She was wearing the shortest skirt I’d ever seen in my entire life. It was black and wrapped so tightly around her thighs it looked painted on. Her heels were tall and red, matching her bright red lipstick and bright red nails.

Blond hair was piled high on her head.

She assessed me just like I was assessing her.

Her eyes narrowed.

A man about six foot seven towered behind her. He had dark sunglasses on and was wearing all black just like me. The unmarked Lexus behind them was still running.

“Um…” I found my voice. “Just this way.”

“How long?” The man asked with a thick Russian accent.

“I’m not sure, I’ll just have—”

He held up his hand and sneered, then rubbed his bald head with that same hand. “Never mind.”

I opened the door wider and let the girl through.

She smelled like bubble gum. And she looked like a stripper, walked like a stripper, if I didn’t know any better I’d think Nikolai had some sort of… agreement with his patients or they weren’t patients at all. A sickening feeling started churning in my gut as I led her to the room and opened the door.

“Hey, Doc.” She winked and sat on the table. “This can’t take long because I have like, a few clients I need to get to tonight, big money.”

“Ah, big money?” Nikolai repeated then nodded to me.

I shut the door and waited, my back leaning against the furthest wall just in case he did something that meant I needed to run away—as fast as possible.

Not that there would be anywhere I could disappear to where he or my mafia boss father wouldn’t find me.

Dead if I went.

Tortured if I stayed?

I shook the thought away and watched as he engaged the girl as if she was the cutest thing on the planet.

He smiled, freaking smiled at her, flirted with her, and touched her. I wasn’t jealous, just… irritated, whatever, I was tired and still freaked out.

“So, Natalia,” he purred. “How has business been going? Any complaints?”

“I never get complaints.” She giggled behind her hand then leaned forward, her breasts practically toppling out of her low cut sparkly white shirt. “You should know that by now…”

Gross.

“Of course I do,” he said in a smooth as sin voice. “Open up for me just a bit.”

She opened her mouth while he looked inside and frowned. “How long have the sores been back?”

Sores?

“A few days.” She shrugged. “But you know they always go away when you give me medicine.”

“Like all good doctors.” He flashed another grin. “Alright… Maya.”

My head jerked to attention. “Yes?”

“Across the hall is the storage closet. Can you please get me a small vial of JR 88?”

“Sure.” With a gulp, I quickly went across the hall to get the vial. The storage closet was more of a drug addict’s paradise. There were enough pills to get a person high for eons—on top of that he had vials of things I couldn’t even pronounce. I finally located the right one and hurried back into the room.

Just in time to see Nikolai tuck the scalpel into the lapel of his jacket and pull out a needle.

I handed over the vial and waited.

With precision, he dipped the needle into the bottle then pulled a small amount, maybe the size of a pea, into the syringe. “Now, I know you hate needles.”